sports
Caruana beats Nakamura after six-hour game in Candidates opener
Fabiano Caruana outplayed fellow American Hikaru Nakamura in a marathon first-round game at the Candidates Tournament in Peyia, Cyprus, as Praggnanandhaa and Sindarov also won and Yi Wei drew.
Mar 31st 2026 · Cyprus
Insights
- Fabiano Caruana defeated Hikaru Nakamura 1-0 in a six-hour first-round game in Peyia, Cyprus, dominating strategically but missing earlier finishing chances.
- Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa beat Anish Giri and Javokhir Sindarov beat Andrey Yesipenko to join Caruana on one point.
- Yi Wei and Matthias Bluebaum drew, each taking half a point.
- Standings after round 1: Caruana, Praggnanandhaa and Sindarov 1 point; Yi Wei and Bluebaum 0.5; Nakamura, Giri and Yesipenko 0.
- The Candidates is a 14-round double round robin and its winner will challenge world champion Dommaraju Gukesh later this year.
- Caruana entered the event with recent classical play while Nakamura had limited classical preparation due to streaming and other commitments.